


Return of the Djinni

by Secoura



Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mention of torture, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Plot, Royals, Season/Series 04 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-02 07:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4052278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secoura/pseuds/Secoura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long before the Grimms left the service of the Seven Houses it was the Djinn who vanished from their service, and not even the Grimms knew why.  Now a djinni is once again working for the House of Kronenberg, causing havoc for those still reeling from their recent losses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first attempt at writing in this fandom, and my first foray into fanfiction in any genre in a while. This is completely unbeta'd so any errors, especially in spelling, are entirely my own. Warnings and tags may change as the story progresses so please do heed them.

**Our City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.** - _Plato_

* * *

 

King Frederick had put up a bit of a fuss as Meisner was tossing him from the helicopter. A king did not simply let himself be thrown to his death without some protest, however token it may be. Meisner had to believe that he was really killing the king and making off with Princess Diana if the Family was to finally be rid of the Resistance and, hopefully, the bastard Prince.

“You shouldn't be so quick to want your only living son dead, Your Majesty,” a woman's voice said as they appeared back within the palace in Vienna.

“It's not nice to read my thoughts,” the King scolded, which only made her laugh.

“I have no need to read your mind when you voice your thoughts aloud.”

“Disrespectful as well, I see.” In contrast to the words, his tone was almost teasing.

“What would you have me do now, Your Majesty?”

He huffed, then sat down on a plush chair before the fireplace. “You are certain Diana is safe?”

“Absolutely. This is for the best. She will lead us to the Laufer and probably kill a good many of them in the meantime.”

“How can you be sure of this?”

“She was brainwashed by Kelly Burkhardt, which is why she wanted you dead. Kelly was also the only parent that child knows. Now that Kelly is dead, Diana will lash out at everyone around her. Let the Resistance take the brunt of her power for now. When the time is right, she'll see that blood is the tie that binds.”

“Thank you for saving me, by the way. I did have a moment where I wondered if you wouldn't let Meisner actually kill me since you had no problem letting Prince Kenneth die.”

“Prince Kenneth was a psychopathic monster, and he bored me. Honestly, when the best he could wish for was to have the strength of a Zauberbiest just so he could beat your son in a fight--”

“Kenneth served a role in all of this, and now I need you to bring Sean back into the family. Bastard or not, he is a Prince and he is Diana's father. He's more valuable to us alive here then dead in Portland.”

“I knew you didn't really want to be rid of him. He has a Grimm on his side, after all.”

“And I have a Marid. It has been so long since any of the royal families have had a Grimm or a Djinn working with them, and now I have the chance to bring the House of Kronenberg both of these things. Soon war will come to this world, and I intend to be the victor.”

“Of course, your Majesty. What would you have me do now?”

* * *

Sean had hoped to drink himself into a stupor and forget about the events of the last 24 hours. Not the wisest thing to do, he realized, but things had spun out of his control so terrifyingly fast that he just wanted to numb the pain and fear for a bit. It would all still be there to face him when he sobered up, so there was no point in dwelling on all the death and destruction now.

And yet here he was, standing by his window looking out over the city and barely resisting the urge to throw things, break things, scream at the top of his lungs that he didn't want this, that he had never asked for all of this to be laid on him. He was the Prince though, and bastard or no, he had to remain in control of himself if he was to keep control of his canton.

Calls had been made to the right people for taking care of the mess at the rental property and to ensure that Kenneth's body was found. The residents of Portland needed to feel safe again knowing that their own Jack the Ripper was no more.

Diana was lost to him again, most likely forever now that his father had her. That hurt him to his very core, that this innocent child – his daughter – was going to be used and abused by the royals with no chance for a happy childhood or a happy life. Not that she would have had one if his father hadn't gotten her. Being on the run with Kelly Burkhardt might have been preferable but it still would not have been what he wanted for Diana. He wanted her with him, wanted to watch her grow up and say I love you Daddy and –

He stopped his own thoughts, mildly disgusted with himself. There was no point in dwelling on the past. If he started to list all the things he wanted and would never have, it would take the rest of his life to finish. He needed to think about what all of this meant to him, to Portland, to Nick...

Would his family keep trying to kill him? Would his father attempt reconciliation and try to lure Sean to his side just to get the Grimm? Would Nick even stay in Portland now that he had lost everything he loved? Adalind might be pregnant with his child, but he had no love for her and while he might have felt a need to protect the child, Sean wasn't sure he could ever love the child, innocent or not, after all of this.

And Sean, after all of this, needed to get out before the walls closed in any more and he suffocated. _Things can't get much worse than they are now_ , he thought as he headed for his vehicle, intending to drive far enough out of the city that he wouldn't run into anyone he knew or have to hear about any of what happened.

Club XS wouldn't have been Sean's first choice to get a drink and lose himself. It probably wouldn't have been his second, third, or tenth choice either, but after driving for over an hour it was where he found himself. It was rumored to be some sort of bondage club but he found no evidence of that when he went inside. It was dark and lit mostly by neon tubing, but also fairly quiet with only a few people at the bar and the dance floor was empty.

“Slow night?” he asked the bartender when he took a seat on one of the stools.

“People are scared with Jack the Ripper still out there,” the bartender answered. “What can I get for you?”

“Bourbon, neat.”

“Haven't seen you in here before,” a woman said, sliding up to take a seat on the barstool next to him.

“And I suppose you remember everyone who's been in here,” he said nonchalantly. He wanted to be left alone and hoped that she would get the hint.

“I'm the owner of this fine establishment, and I would certainly remember having a police captain at my bar.”

“Great,” he sighed in defeat.

“Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.”

“I should be going.” He finished his drink and pulled out his wallet, but she put a hand on his to stop him.

“You don't need to rush off. No one here bites, at least not without being asked, and no one is going to bother you. You looked like you came here to escape from something so stay and escape. Drinks are on the house.”

“You know that could be looked at as bribing a police official.”

“Only if people found out there was a police official here. I won't tell if you won't.”

He didn't notice that her eyes glowed green for just a split second, or the golden light that seemed to emanate from where her hand touched his. He was aware only of how much he suddenly wanted to stay right where he was. “All right,” he agreed, leaving his wallet on the bar. “What's your name?”

“Livia. Friends call me Liv.”

“Call me Sean.”

“All right, Sean. I need to take care of some work but Ben will take good care of you.”

“Thanks again.” He watched her walk away, some small part of his mind telling him that something wasn't right, that he should get the hell out of their. The part of his mind that was happy to be sitting at a bar, drinking and not thinking about recent events told the other part of his mind to shut up and it did.

Livia had barely gone into the office when her phone rang. She answered, saying only “He's here” before hanging up and locking the office door.

* * *

 Sean woke up in his bed, unsure how he got there. He remembered leaving, driving for a while and then...

“Not again,” he said as he quickly checked the pajama shirt he was wearing for blood. Finding none, he decided to get out of bed and check his reflection, stripping off the bed clothes to see if there were any marks or bruises to indicate he'd been attacked. There was nothing. That almost bothered him more, because it most likely meant one of two things: a Hexenbiest, or Jack. Given the choice between the two, he decided he would prefer it was a Hexenbiest getting revenge for Adalind. He couldn't let himself think for another second of the possibility that the entity they had dubbed Jack the Ripper was still inside of him.

A hot shower made him feel a bit better physically, but mentally he was still going through scenarios. When he picked up his phone he had five missed calls, all from Hank. _This can't be good_ , he thought as he prepared to return his detective's call. He wanted to find out how Nick was doing.

“Captain, everything all right? I'm on my way to your place because I didn't think I'd ever reach you by phone.”

“Yeah, everything's fine, I just overslept. What's wrong?”

“We need to talk. I'll be at your door in a few minutes. This isn't something to discuss over the phone.”

Sean managed to pull on jeans and a sweatshirt by the time Hank arrived. “I take it things have not gone well?” he asked as he let the detective in his house.

“I went by Nick's house to check on him and the place is a mess. There's a pool of blood on the floor that was not there when he found his mother's head in the box. No sign of Nick or Trubel, and I haven't been able to reach either of them.”

“Have you tried tracking the location of their phones?”

“Both phones are in Nick's house.”

“Did you report it?”

“Not yet. I was hoping you knew what was going on.”

“Hank, I had another blackout. If Nick did contact me, I don't remember it.”

“You mean blackout as in...”

“I remember leaving here and driving, and then waking up in my bed with no memory of what happened.”

“But Jack's gone.”

“What if he isn't? What if I'm responsible for whatever happened at Nick's house last night?”

“Monroe and Rosalee should be at the spice shop. I'll take you there.”

“Thanks. Has Kenneth's body been found yet?”

“I haven't heard. Once it is, I imagine the mayor will be calling you about a press conference.”

“If Jack is still inside me, you'll need to kill me. Really kill me.”

“Captain, I--”

“No potions, no rubber bullets. Kill me. It may be the only way to stop him.”

“First, let's make damn sure there isn't some other explanation for your blackout. It was a pretty stressful 24 hours for all of us, and this may be a side effect of what Rosalee gave you.”

“I hope so,” Sean said. “I really hope so.”

* * *

“I don't think this blackout had anything to do with Jack,” Rosalee said as she offered the captain a cup of hot tea. They were at the spice shop sitting in the back room where she kept the more precious and rare ingredients.

“Could this be a side effect of the Dead Faint?”

“It might be. I could mix up a Gedaechtnishilfe to see if it reboots your memory.”

“It could be dangerous if Jack takes control.”

“Jack is gone,” Monroe said confidently. “Whatever happened, it's something else. I'm going to look through the books we have here and see if I can find anything. Maybe there's a little cousin to the Gedächtnis Esser running around. Not that it would be good to have something like that running around.”

"I'll go with Monroe, see what we can find," Hank said, leaving Sean and Rosalee alone.  
  
“I'm going to get started on the potion; the sooner you remember what really happened, the sooner we can figure out what really happened at Nick's house,” Rosalee said, giving him a pat on the arm before she turned to begin gathering ingredients. Sean stared at the cup of tea he was still holding. Glancing back, she saw just sitting there like a statue. “It's going to be ok,” she said, sitting back down. “You're going to remember, and then...we'll move forward.”

He gave her a sad half-smile and drank the tea, setting the cup down on the table. “I want my daughter back just as much as Adalind does.”

“I know.”

“To think that my father has her...”

“We'll get her back. I'm not ready to give up on reuniting you with your daughter. We'll figure all of this out, but we have to take one step at a time. First we get your memory of last night back.”

"And then we have to find Nick and Trubel."


	2. Chapter 2

“From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.”  
―Socrates

* * *

“Juliette,” Nick said, cradling her in his arms and gently rocking. She was just sleeping, and when she woke up the Hexenbiest would be gone from her and they could start their life anew. He knew that his Juliette would never, ever have made him point a gun at Monroe, would never have betrayed his mother's trust, would never have hurt him like this. Trubel was still standing there, holding the weapon she'd used to kill Juliette, when men Nick didn't recognize came into the house. He did recognize Agent Chavez, however.

“What are you doing here?” he growled, still holding Juliette.

“What the hell is going on?” Chavez asked, looking from Trubel to Nick and back again. “What have you done?”

“Killed a Hexenbiest before she could kill my friend,” Trubel answered.

“You're working with her now?” Nick's grief was quickly turning to anger.

“It's not like that, Nick. Please, just listen to me,” Trubel pleaded.

Nick chose not to listen, tuning out what Trubel and Chavez were saying. His focus was on the woman in his arms. Trubel might have killed her, but he'd lost his Juliette a while ago. He wondered exactly when she'd become a Hexenbiest. How many times had she said that she needed to talk to him? Every time, there was something more important and off he'd run, leaving her to deal with it alone. If only he had put her first and gone home to hear what she needed to tell him, this all might have ended differently. If he hadn't been so obvious about how repulsive her Hexenbiest side was to him, perhaps the anger wouldn't have won and they could have fought together in this battle. As powerful as Juliette was, having her on his side would have been a blessing. Instead, everyone kept trying to find ways to fix her.

“--in shock. We need to get him out of here,” he finally heard Chavez say when his brain decided to start paying attention to the outside world again.

“I'm not leaving her,” he said, tightening his grip on Juliette.

“It isn't safe here,” Chavez said. “Let me take you somewhere that you won't be in danger.”

“There's nothing left that can hurt me.”

“Nick, please...” Trubel started, but Nick interrupted her.

“You don't get a say in this.”

“She wasn't working with me, Detective. I had heard about the out of control Hexenbiest and contacted Theresa to get her to help. I traced her phone here. And if I could trace her phone here, so could other people. That is why we need to leave now.”

“Kenneth is dead, along with the Varrat. Who else is there to come after me?”

“Who is Kenneth?”

“The latest royal to be sent to Portland. He killed Nick's mom, Nick killed him.”

“All the more reason you need to get out of here. There will be hell to pay for killing a member of the royal family.”

“I'm done fighting. If they want to kill me, they can try.”

“This is getting us nowhere. Shoot him,” Chavez told one of her men. Before Nick or Trubel could react, Nick had a dart in the back of his neck and soon was soon slumped over Juliette's body.

“What are you doing?” Trubel asked, wide eyed as she took a step back.

“What needs to be done. There's still three more darts in that gun if you'd like to be knocked out as well.”

“No, it's just...Juliette, his dead girlfriend, she's...she was the out of control Hexenbiest. A very powerful one, so it wouldn't be smart to leave her body here. There are spells that can use a dead Hexenbiest.”

“Fine, but we have to get moving. Grab the detective and the Hexenbiest and put one in the back of one vehicle and one in the back of the other. You,” Chavez pointed at Trubel, “can come willingly or like your friend. Your choice.”

“Willingly works for me.”

“Good.”

* * *

When Nick finally stirred some hours later, he was in a dark room lying on what he knew was not his bed.

“Nick, you awake?” he heard Trubel ask softly.

“Yeah.”

A light switched on and he brought up a hand to shield his eyes. “Where are we?”

“Chavez took us back to her base.”

“Why are you here?”

“Because I am still your friend, and you shouldn't be alone after all that happened.”

“And by 'all that happened' do you mean you killing Juliette, or your boss shooting me with God knows what?”

“Juliette was about to kill you.”

“She wanted to die. She asked me to kill her. She was trying to provoke me.”

“Why?”

“We'll never know, will we?”

“Nick, I--”

“Just stop. I don't want to hear how sorry you are.”

Trubel sighed and got up from the chair she had been sitting in. “Maybe they'll bring us something to eat.”

“Is Chavez on our side?”

“Now we have a side?”

“You know what I mean. Is she working for the Royals?”

“I've no idea. I am not working with her. She called me tonight while Bud and I were going to get Monroe and Rosalee. She said we needed to talk and I pretended that I was talking to you so Bud wouldn't freak out. She said she'd be in touch and hung up. I didn't know she was going to follow me to your house.”

“Why did you come to my house?”

“I didn't think you should go there by yourself. You did say that Juliette got away. I was afraid something bad would happen to you. I only wanted to protect you.”

“So you haven't been working with Chavez?”

“No, Nick, I swear to you I haven't.”

“So why did they put us in a room together?”

“I think she was genuinely worried about you.”

“We need to get out of here.”

“They don't know that you're Grimm.”

“I don't think that really matters any more.” Nick was off the bed and walking towards the door. “How's Josh?”

“He's fine. I kept hoping that he'd have some Grimm abilities but there's been nothing.”

“At least he's safe.”

“Yeah. It seems odd though, that the attempts on him just stopped.”

“The Royals must have figured out that Josh wasn't a Grimm and didn't have anything that they were interested in.”

The conversation ended when the door to the room opened and Agent Chavez came in. “Good to see you up and about, Detective. How are you feeling?”

“What do you want?”

“All right, we'll get straight to the point. Come on, we've got a lot to discuss.”

They followed Chavez down the hall, past several other doors. Three men with guns followed behind Nick and Trubel to ensure that they kept moving.

* * *

“Shouldn't we have heard from someone by now?” Adalind asked as she sat with Bud at the table, picking at some toast. “What if something happened to Nick?”

“What could have happened? The Royals that aren't dead are gone. Sorry, sorry, that was a horrible thing to say, I don't know why I said that,” the Eisbeiber said when Adalind looked at him with sad eyes. “I know the King has your daughter but we'll find a way to get her back, I'm sure.”

“It's all right Bud. I'm just worried about what Juliette will do next.”

“She's probably with the King in Vienna, so she's not much of a threat to us.”

“I hope so.”

“I'll give Nick a call just to be sure he's ok.”

“Thanks,” Adalind said, giving him a brief smile. With her Hexenbiest suppressed she was dependent on others for her physical safety and she hated it. If Juliette came after her, and she still believed that to be a very real possibility, Bud and his baseball bat weren't going to be much good.

Bud went into the living room to make the call so Adalind stood up, taking her plate into the kitchen where she dumped what was left of her food into the sink before turning on the garbage disposal. “Don't worry, little one,” she said when she felt her baby kick. “We're going to be all right. I'm not going to let anyone take you away from me.”

“Nick's not answering but I left him a message to call when he can. I'm sure he's fine.”

Adalind suddenly grabbed her stomach and moaned in pain. “Oh god, this can't be good,” she said. At the same time the house shook as though a moderate earthquake had struck. Both Adalind's pain and the tremor lasted just a brief moment.

“Are you all right? What happened? Maybe you should lie down.”

“I'm fine, really.”

“And the shaking?”

“I think that was...my baby?”

* * *

“Are you remembering anything?” Rosalee asked. She was sitting at the table opposite Sean who had his head in his hands.

“Just a neon sign with a white eight on it.”

“An eight, that's it?”

“No, it's not an eight. It's an 'S' with a line going through it diagonally. I remember going inside and then it's just a blank.”

“What do you remember from the inside? Was it a restaurant, a bar...”

“I remembering thinking that it was some sort of club before I went in.”

“Ok, well it if was a private club you'd be a member and probably recognize it, so that leaves nightclubs. You don't have any stamps on your hand, do you?”

“Not that I can see.”

“Here, draw what you saw on the neon sign,” Rosalee said, pushing a pad of paper and a pen at the captain. “Maybe someone will recognize it.”

With a sigh he picked up the pen and drew what he remembered from the sign. “Thank you,” he told her when he put the pen down.

“For what?”

“Helping me.”

“Why wouldn't I help you? You've done nothing wrong, Sean. You helped save Monroe's life.”

“So did Juliette.”

“Juliette stood right here in this shop and tried to kill him.”

The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs ended their talk. “We struck out,” Hank said as he and Monroe entered the room. “You remember anything?”

“Just a symbol on a neon sign.”

Hank picked up the drawing to get a better look at it. “Well, it's a start. Maybe we can ask around at the precinct, see if anyone there recognizes it.”

“Looks like an eight,” Monroe said. “Except with bits erased. If it was a neon sign then that narrows it down a bit.”

“I'll go to the precinct and see what I can find out about this.”

“No, Hank, we have to find Nick and Trubel. You should call Bud, be sure Adalind is all right.”

“Maybe you could drop me off at Bud's house,” Rosalee said. “I'm sure Bud could use a break.”

* * *

Agent Chavez took Nick and Trubel to what resembled a police interrogation room. Trubel tensed a bit but Nick didn't seem to care, plopping himself down in one of the chairs.

“So what do you want from us?” he asked.

“I know that you're a Grimm. Bad news travels fast,” Chavez said as Trubel took the seat next to Nick.

“You here to try and recruit me to whatever your organization is?”

“It would be very beneficial to you if you were to join us.”

“Then why don't you tell me about this organization of yours.”

“I am part of the Gegengewicht. We oppose the Royal Families and also the Wesen who influence society on behalf of the Royal Families.”

“So you're part of the Resistance?”

“No. We seek to identify and remove Wesen who are trying to influence normal society. The Laufer care only about removing the Royal Families and stepping into the power vacuum left behind.”

“So you're the good guys.”

“Yes.”

“Why do you need Grimms?” Trubel asked, breaking her silence. “You're Wesen so you don't need us to point out who is Wesen and who isn't.”

“Grimms tend to have more knowledge about the best ways to kill a Wesen then the general Wesen community.”

“My aunt's trailer burned down so I don't have any more knowledge than you do,” Nick said.

Chavez opened her mouth to speak but one of the guards came rushing in.

“There's a problem, Agent Chavez. The dead Hexenbiest is...well, not so dead, it seems.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The symbol that Sean drew is this -
> 
>  
> 
>  


	3. Chapter 3

_**“He who helped you when you were in trouble ought not afterwards be despised by you”** _

* * *

Diana was glad when the helicopter landed and Martin Meisner helped her out.  Another member of the Laufer was piloting and once they were safely clear of the mechanical bird, it took off for places unknown.  
  
“Come on, I know someone who is going to be very happy to see you,” Meisner said, holding out his hand to the girl.  
  
“Mommy?”    
  
“Do you remember your mother?” he asked, wondering if the child meant Adalind or Kelly Burkhardt.  
  
Diana nodded, and her eyes glowed violet for just a fraction of a second as she smiled at him.  “And Daddy.”  
  
“I'm sorry my lady, but we are not going to see your Mommy and Daddy just yet.  It isn't safe for them or for you.  The world must believe for a while yet that you are in Vienna with your Grandfather.  There is a house ready, with lots of more comfortable clothes and toys just for you.”  
  
Diana giggled.  Comfortable was apparently a code word for 'blends in better'.  She didn't care much for the dress she'd been put into anyway.  Kelly Burkhardt had only dressed her in soft denim and warm sweaters; the dress was stiff and itchy and not at all something she wanted to wear.    
  
The thought of Kelly made her eyes dim and a tear run down her cheek.  She knew that the Grimm wasn't her mother, but Kelly had been the only person on whom Diana could rely.  Now Kelly was dead and Diana missed her very much.  She had wanted to do something to stop the attack but as powerful as she already was, she was still just a baby in terms of age and there was no one to show her how to use her powers.  Kelly had only taught her to not use her powers when other people were around.    
  
That she had sensed the trap before they arrived had also played into her lack of action.  The events had already been set in motion by someone much more powerful than she was, and so there was really nothing that she could do to stop them.    
  
Juliette's presence had been welcome because Diana remembered her and she could also feel that Juliette and her mother were connected, just like Juliette and Kelly were connected.  She could even feel that Juliette was connected to her father, and all of those connections made her feel a bit better.  
  
There was no such strings connecting her to the man she was with now, but he was just as familiar as Kelly Burkhardt was.  Martin Meisner was the man who delivered her into the world, holding her in his hands.  His eyes had been the first eyes to look into her own and though it would seem impossible, she remembered him.  She trusted him completely though she couldn't have explained why.  
  
They were in the middle of nowhere it seemed, surrounded by trees and with only a dirt path to follow.  After a few moments of just standing there a car approached.  Meisner pushed Diana behind him and waited.  The car slowed to a stop several yards from where they were, and the door opened to reveal a blonde woman exiting the vehicle.  
  
“Hello Martin,” she greeted.  “And hello Diana.”  
  
“Elizabeth, it is good to see you.”  
  
“And I you.  Thank you for saving my granddaughter.”  
  
Diana gripped Meisner's hand, peering suspicously at Elizabeth.  “It's all right,” he told her, looking down and smiling.  “This is your Daddy's mother.  She's your grandmother.”  
  
Yes, Diana decided, she could feel the connection between herself and Elizabeth, though it was not as strong as the connection with Juliette had been.  Her eyes glowed violet and she smiled, releasing Meisner's hand and walking towards Elizabeth.    
  
“You coming?” Elizabeth asked when Meisner stayed where he was.  
  
“It's too dangerous.”  
  
“No one even knows that the King is dead and Diana is missing.  I think it will take the family a little more time to start search than it will take for you to get some food and a bit of sleep.”  
  
He was about to refuse Elizabeth's offer when the Princess held out a hand to him and smiled, her eyes once again briefly glowing violet.  Finding himself unable to refuse the child, he walked to them and got in the backseat with Diana.  “Are you hungry?” he asked her, and she nodded.  
  
“It's only about a ten minute drive, and then we'll get you out of that awful dress and fed," Elizabeth promised.  
  
The car began the slow drive along the dirt road, and they fell into silence for a few minutes.  “Are you going to tell Sean?” Meisner finally asked.  
  
“Not yet.  I love my son and would do anything for him, but when it is discovered that the King is dead and Diana is gone, Sean is the first person the family will be looking at.”  
  
They never left the forest, and soon Elizabeth drove up to an old cabin.  As promised there was a bedroom for Diana, filled with clothing and toys.  Some stuffed animals and dolls graced the bed.  Meisner checked the entire building and then went to check the surrounding area while Elizabeth helped get her granddaughter into jeans and a shirt with kittens on it.  Gray tennis shoes completed the outfit, and then Elizabeth led her to the kitchen and helped the child onto a seat at the table before opening the refrigerator.    
  
“How does eggs sound?  Do you like scrambled eggs?”  
  
“Yes.  Bacon?”  
  
Elizabeth smiled warmly at Diana.  “I do indeed have bacon.”  
  
When the bacon and eggs were done, Elizabeth put the plate on the table along with a glass of milk.  “Where's my mommy?” Diana asked, looking at her grandmother as she took her first bite of the food.  
  
“I suppose she's in Portland.  Do you want to see her?”  
  
She shrugged and continued eating her food.  Meisner slipped back inside about the time that Elizabeth took the empty plate and put it in the sink.   
  
“Is she all right?” he asked as he came into the kitchen.  
  
“She's fine, though I imagine she could do with some sleep, as could you.  There's a bedroom and bathroom upstairs.  Go shower and crawl into bed for a few hours.”  
  
“I shouldn't stay.”  
  
“Martin Meisner, you will do as I say.  You may be a grown man now, but I still remember when you were a boy.  Now go.”  
  
“My father always told me not to cross a Hexenbiest,” he said with a chuckle.  
  
“Your father was a very wise man.”  She woged into her Hexenbiest form.  “We'll be fine.”  When she saw Meisner disappear up the stairs, she slipped back into her human self.  “Now what about you, Diana?  Will you lie down and take a bit of a nap?”  
  
She let herself be taken to her room and after slipping off the shoes, she laid down on top of the covers.  Elizabeth moved the dolls and stuffed animals to a nearby chair but Diana reached out her hand towards one.  Her eyes glowed and a stuffed monkey floated to her.  Smiling, she cuddled the monkey and closed her eyes.    
  
“Kelly Burkhardt took very good care of you,” Elizabeth said softly, kissing Diana's forehead.  “I owe her a great debt.”

* * *

  
It had been so long since he'd truly slept that Meisner wasn't sure he even remembered how to.  The hot shower did wonders for his aching muscles and afterwards he crawled into bed in just a pair of boxer shorts that he found neatly folded at the bottom of the bed.  Opening a drawer of the dresser revealed more items of clothing, and he went between annoyance and relief that Elizabeth had known that she would get him to stay for at least a little while.  He would be properly angry with her for using her powers on him later, after he slept.  For now he knew that the Hexenbiest was right. It would take time for the King to be missed and even more time for anyone to find them in this remote part of Oregon.  More likely they would look to Sean for Diana, and then assume that the Resistance had taken her far away from Portland.  
  
Sleep overtook him before he could worry any more about how Sean and Adalind were going to react to the news that the King was dead and Diana was missing.  Instead his last waking thought  was that it would probably be good for the child if he stuck around for a bit, give her someone familiar while she got to know Elizabeth.  
  
He no sooner closed his eyes then he was opening them again.  It was the middle of the day judging by the sunlight coming through the window, and he chastised himself for having slept so long.  He quickly grabbed jeans and a sweater, pulling them on and rushing down the stairs in his bare feet to check on Diana.  
  
“Oh, so you are still alive,” Elizabeth greeted him when he reached the bottom landing.  Diana looked up from the stuffed animals she was playing with, giving him that shy smile of hers before returning to whatever game she was playing.  
  
“You shouldn't have let me sleep so long,” he groused, sitting beside her on the sofa.  
  
“You were tired, and who knows when you'll get another chance for a good sleep.  Diana and I already had lunch but I can fix you something.  You should eat.”  
  
“When did you become so maternal?”  
  
“When I became a grandmother.  Now you just sit there and I'll fix you a sandwich.  Do you want coffee?” she asked as she was already in the kitchen.    
  
“If you've already got a pot made.”  Getting no response, he went to where Diana was playing and sat on the floor beside her.  “So, are you and your grandmother getting along?”  
  
Diana nodded, and then showed him the locket she was wearing – the same one that Kelly had given her when she was just a tiny baby.  “Nicholas,” she said, opening it to reveal the photos inside.  
  
“You know who that boy is?”  
  
Diana nodded, then turned her attention back to the stuffed animals.  Her eyes glowed and she made them dance in a circle on the floor as Elizabeth came over.    
  
“Here's your lunch,” she said, smiling as she handed it to Meisner.  “You're very good with children, you know.”  
  
He said nothing, taking a bite of the turkey and cheese sandwich and watching the dance of the plush toys.

* * *

  
“Keep them here,” Chavez ordered as she turned to leave the room.  
  
“Wait, you can't --” Nick started to say.  He was interrupted by the sight of what had to be a Hexenbiest spirit.  It looked just like what he saw when Adalind bit him and she lost her Hexenbiest half.  In a second, it was gone.  
  
“Did you see that?” he asked Trubel.  
  
“Yeah.  Yeah, I saw it, but what was it?”  
  
Agent Chavez disappeared, the door to the room shutting loudly behind her.  “Damn it!” Nick said, punching the wall with his fist.  
  
“Nick, calm down,” Trubel said.  
  
“No, I'm not going to calm down.  When I lost my Grimm powers I should have moved with Juliette as far from Portland as I could.  Then none of this would have happened.”  
  
“A lot of people would be dead if you had done that.”  
  
Nick just shook his head and went to lean with his back against a wall.    
  
“You said that if we found Juliette, we should kill her,” Trubel finally said.  
  
“I know.”  
  
“She was going to kill you, Nick.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
“Would you say something besides 'I know'?”  
  
“I don't feel like having this conversation with you.  Something is going on with Juliette and I need to know what it is.”  
  
“Fine.”  Trubel sat in one of the chairs and stared straight ahead.  
  
Neither of them knew how much time had passed before the door again opened and Chavez returned.  “Juliette is asking to see you, Nick.  If you're up to it, I'll take you to her.”  
  
“You're telling me Juliette is still alive.”  
  
“That's what our doctor is telling me and from what I've seen, it's true.”  
  
“Take me to her.”  Nick rushed to follow Chavez out of the room, leaving Trubel alone.  
  
“This way,” Chavez said, leading Nick down the hall and to a lift.  Three men accompanied them down on the lift but stopped outside of the door labeled 'infirmary'.  “I'll go in first, see --”  
  
“No, I'm going in there.  It's Juliette.  The Hexenbiest is gone, Tru—Theresa and I both saw it back in the cell.  All that is left is Juliette.”  
  
"I hope so," she said as she was swiping a card to unlock the door.  They went down a short hallway and through another door to find the room they wanted.  
  
Juliette was in a hospital bed with the head raised, her bloody clothing having been replaced with a plain blue gown. A woman was there checking the many monitors that filled the room.  
  
“Juliette?” he asked when he entered the room, momentarily holding his breath as he waited for her to respond.  
  
“Nick, what are you doing here?  What happened?” she asked as the doctor stepped back and Nick sat on the bed, folding her into his arms.  “Ok, this...this is nice.  Except that I can't breath.”  
  
“Juliette, how...”  He released his hold on her and brushed a lot of hair out of her face.  “How is this possible?” he demanded of the doctor.  
  
“The Hexenbiest within her healed Juliette before leaving her.”  
  
“And you're sure the Hexenbiest is gone?” Chavez asked.  
  
“Absolutely.  Now I know, Agent Chavez, that you probably have a lot of questions but I must insist that Juliette be allowed to rest and that Nick be allowed to stay with her if that is what the patient wants.”  
  
“I have to say, Burkhardt, that I really wasn't expecting any sort of happy ending to this.  I think any questions can wait until the doctor says I can ask them.”  
  
When Chavez was gone, Nick turned to the doctor.  “She's really ok?”    
  
“Yes.  Oh, I'm Lara Reed, by the way.”    
  
“Nick Burhardt, but you already knew that.”  
  
“If you need anything, I'll just be down the hall.  There's a call button here,” she said, picking up a small gray box with a large circle in the center and putting it on the bed next to Juliette's hand.  “Press that if you need anything.  I know that you two have a lot to talk about but try to get some rest.”  Dr. Reed looked around the room and then said to Nick, “I know you don't plan on leaving this room anytime soon so let me know if there's anything at all I can get you.”  
  
“Thank you Dr. Reed.”  
  
“You're both welcome.”  
  
Dr. Reed stepped out of the room and was met by Agenct Chavez.  “Relax, everything is fine.”  
  
“You're sure this is going to work?”  
  
“You'll get more information letting her tell Nick about what happened then you'll ever get out of her by interrogating her.  Besides, she's been through enough.  They both have.”  
  
“Yeah, they have.  I meant what I said about not expecting a happy ending.  I'm really glad that they might get one.”


	4. Chapter 4

_**Don't trust somebody who can't trust you.**_

* * *

 

“Do you see that?” Rosalee asked as Monroe pulled up in front of Bud's house.  She pointed to a cloud high above that turned briefly into a skull, then disintegrated into mist.  
  
“Hexenbiest, it has to be,” Monroe said.    
  
When they knocked at the door Bud answered and let them in.  “Did you guys feel that earthquake a little while ago?”  
  
“What earthquake?”  Rosalee looked to Monroe, worried.  Monroe just shook his head.  
  
“Sorry, we didn't feel anything.  Where's Adalind?”  
  
“Lying down in bed.”  
  
“We need to talk to her.”  Without waiting for an answer the Fuchsbau went past Bud to find Adalind's room.  
  
“What's wrong?” Adalind asked when she saw Rosalee standing in her doorway.  
  
“Are you all right?”  
  
“Yeah, the baby was just a little active earlier.  Why?”  
  
“There was a skull over the house when Monroe and I showed up.”  
  
“Wait, what?  That's not possible, I...oh no.”  
  
“Oh no, what?”  
  
“There was a shaking, like what happens when a Hexenbiest is fighting for control.  The skull though, that means that some ritual or spell is being done.  My Hexenbiest is suppressed and there's no way this baby is doing spells in the womb.  Juliette must be here.”  Adalind's eyes were wide with terror as her hands went protectively to her swollen belly.  “Where's Nick?”  
  
“We don't know.  You and Bud should come with us to the precinct.  Hank and Sean are there, and it's got to be safer than staying here.”  
  
“How can you not know where Nick is?  I need him, he's the only one who can protect me from Juliette.”  
  
“Hank and Sean are working on it.  A lot of things happened and --”  
  
“Let's just go,” Adalind interrupted, grabbing her purse on the way to the front door where Bud and Monroe were waiting.

* * *

  
“I don't like this,” King Frederick said as he looked out a window at the courtyard below.  “I should have brought Diana back with me.”  
  
“And I told you that you have to trust me, Your Majesty.  Bringing the girl here would have been disastrous.  You must have patience.  There's a reason no one says that good things come to those who rush in headfirst.”  
  
“What about Prince Sean?”  
  
“He is being dealt with.  Soon you will have him and the Grimm, and House Kronenberg will be the only Royal house left standing.”  
  
“But will I still be alive to see it?”  
  
“Do you think so poorly of me as to believe I cannot give you a long life?”  
  
“No my dear, but I know how cunning the Djinn as a whole can be.”  
  
“No more cunning than royalty.”  
  
“I suppose,” the King laughed, “that you do have a point there.  We both know why you're helping me, and it isn't any great love of the House of Kronenberg.”  
  
“Then you know that I will do what you ask of me without fail.”  
  
“Yes, that I do.  If you'll excuse me, I think I'll pay a visit to Prince Viktor.  I doubt he's enjoying the dungeons any more than Ms. Schade did.”

* * *

  
Livia was alone in Club XS taking inventory when the djinn appeared before her.  “Mom, what are you doing here?” she asked.  “Sorry, I mean--”  
  
“You have spent too much time trapped here.  That is going to end soon, I promise you.  I am just making sure that everything is going the way that it should.”  
  
“Everything's fine.  I got Prince Sean here, and I took care of things.  He has no memory of this place or of what happened to him.”  
  
“You disapprove of what I had you do.”  
  
“No.  I mean, maybe I kind of I do.  I know that the end result is something that needs to happen, but I'm not so sure that the ends justify the means in this instance.”  
  
“You have much empathy for humans and Wesens.  That is not a bad thing, Princess, but do not expect them to show the same empathy for you when they learn what you are.”  
  
“I know.  I am almost 2400 years old, you know.”  
  
“You are only 2392.  Still a baby.  You haven't told anyone your name, have you?”  
  
Livia rolled her eyes.  “Not my real one. I doubt they could pronounce it anyway.  Speaking of babies...”  
  
“Diana is with her grandmother.”  
  
“The Hexenbiest?”  
  
“Yes.  Your brother is keeping an eye on them and making sure that things go as we need them to.  I must return to the castle and make sure the King doesn't torture his nephew too much.”  
  
Livia raised an eyebrow.  “Viktor?”  
  
“Poor Prince has been locked in the dungeon I'm afraid.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Because he failed to get Diana back.  Because he is the Queen's sister's son.  Perhaps Viktor looked at his uncle wrong or took the last biscuit at tea.”  
  
“Just make sure you don't end up in that dungeon.  I'm sure you know what they say about those old cells.”  
  
“That they are made of iron to hold a djinn captive, yes, I know.  Fortunately I doubt King Frederick knows that.  The current generation of Royals believe those cells were made to hold Hexenbiests.”  
  
“I guess it's good for us that we share a weakness.  Sucks for them.”  
  
“You be careful.  You don't want to get yourself bound to another Prince.”  
  
“I won't.  Though honestly, I could hug that Grimm for killing Kenneth.  At least I no longer have to do his bidding.”  
  
“That is something to be very grateful for, but you need to be free to return to your home.  Don't get too comfortable here because if you start thinking of this place as home--”  
  
“I know, Mom, it will be that much harder to leave because running a bondage club has become my greatest aspiration in life.”  
  
“You shouldn't have bought this place.  It's not befitting your status.  You are a Marid Princess.”  
  
“It serves my purposes.  Don't you have to go make sure Viktor doesn't get all his fingernails pulled out?”  
  
“All right, I'm going.  Just remember to be careful.”

* * *

  
“There was no evidence at Nick's house as to what happened there beyond that it was one hell of a fight.  Samples of the blood were sent to the lab to see if we can get a DNA match,” Wu told the Captain.  They were in Sean's office while Hank looked through a database to try and identify the strange symbol he'd remembered.  
  
“Kelly Burkhardt's remains?”  
  
“Gone.  I assume that Nick or Trubel took care of it.”  
  
“All right.  Wu, I need you to do something else for me.  I need to know if there were any unsolved assaults reported last night in the Portland area.”  
  
“Sir?”  
  
“I had another blackout.  I remember leaving my house, and then I woke up in bed.  I've already been to see Rosalee and she doesn't think that it's Jack but--”  
  
Hank knocked on the door, then opened it and came in.  “I got a hit on that symbol you drew.  Did you tell him?” Hank indicated Sgt. Wu.  
  
“Yes, I told him about the blackout.  What did you find?”  
  
“That symbol belongs to a place called Club XS that caters to a certain...crowd of people.”  
  
“What sort of people?”  
  
“Publicly it's just a nightclub but there are reports that it's also a private sex and bondage club.  The bondage apparently takes place in the rooms under the club.”  
  
“How do you know this?” Wu asked.  
  
“Vice sent officers in undercover expecting that they were trafficking sex workers.  Three times they found no evidence of illegal activity.”  
  
“I find that hard to believe.  I take it you have an address on this place.”  
  
“I do.”  
  
“Let's go.  Wu, if there's anything--”  
  
“I'll call you as soon as there's anything about Nick and Trubel.”  
  
Hank and Sean made it as far as Hank's desk when Adalind, Bud, Monroe and Rosalee came walking up.    
  
“Thank god you're here,” Monroe said.  “We need to talk.”  
  
Sean sighed, his face momentarily showing just how tired he was of everything.  He had the mask back in place quickly enough though that only Rosalee saw the slip.  “Let's talk in my office,” he said.  
  
As the group headed in that direction, Rosalee put a hand on his back.  “What did you find?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper when he stopped to look at her.  
  
“Nothing good.  That symbol I remember belongs to a very specialized club.  Have you ever heard of Club XS?”  
  
“I've heard of it, it's popular among certain Wesen.”  Seeing that the others were now waiting for them inside the office, she did her best to smile.  “We can discuss it later.”  
  
Once the door was shut and locked, Sean sat behind his desk.  Adalind and Rosalee took the two chairs while the others stood.  “So, what has brought you all here to see me?”  
  
“Juliette is still trying to kill me!” Adalind said excitedly.  
  
“I thought Juliette was going to Vienna with my father and Diana.”  Sean looked at Hank and Wu as he spoke.  
  
“That was the impression we got,” Hank said.  “Nick said she was heading for the helicopter carrying Diana.”  
  
“What makes you think that Juliette is still here?”  
  
Adalind and Bud both started to talk but Rosalee jumped in and silenced them.  “When Monroe and I drove up to Bud's house, we both saw a skull form in the clouds over the house.”  
  
“Definitely the sign of a Hexenbiest at work,” the captain concurred.  
  
“Just before we got there, Bud and Adalind experienced the house shaking, like a small earthquake.  It's the same thing that we experienced when Adalind took the potion to suppress her Hexenbiest, and again when Juliette came to the shop and we tried getting her to take the suppression potion.”  
  
“Juliette is not the only Hexenbiest in the world, or even in Portland.”  
  
“Come on, Sean, who else would be coming after me?  I need Nick, have you found him?”  
  
“I'm still working on it.”  
  
“Why am I not surprised?  You couldn't even find your own daughter.”  
  
Sean's eyes flash angrily and it was again Rosalee to try and calm things down.  “Please, just stop. This is not Sean's fault and you know it.”  
  
“Oh sure, take his side.”  
  
“Adalind, I am going to assume that it is the hormones making you act like this because--”  
  
“Because what?  I'm to blame for everything?”  
  
“Enough!” Sean said, the sharpness of his voice making even Hank jump a bit.  “Adalind, if you want to blame me for the mess that you created, go ahead, but know this.  Diana is with my family, and when I get her back I will do what I feel is best for her.”  
  
“She belongs with me!”  
  
“She belongs with sane people, and I'm honestly not sure that any of us qualify as that right now.  Hank and I are going to try and find out something about last night.  The rest of you are welcome to stay here or go home as you wish.  If Juliette is making clouds turn into skulls and causing houses to shake, there's nothing I can do to stop it and believe me, I wish that I could promise you that you'll be safe.”  
  
“Where are you going?” Adalind asked, her voice softer.  She was looking at Sean with something that resembled sympathy.  
  
“No place that any of you have any business being.”  
  
“Sean...”  Rosalee started to talk but he shook his head.  
  
“This is my mess and I'll deal with it.  Just take care of Adalind and each other.  If I find out anything about Nick, I'll let you all know.”

* * *

  
“What happened?  Juliette, how did this--”  
  
“I'm not entirely sure how to explain it but the Hexenbiest was like...I don't know, having another being inside of me.  After a while it got stronger and I couldn't stop it.  Eventually I didn't want to stop it.”  
  
“So it wasn't you that turned on us and made me point a gun at Monroe?”  
  
“I suppose in a way it was.  If I had wanted Monroe or Rosalee or any of you dead, you'd be dead.  I just wanted you all to hate me as much as I hated myself.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Why did I hate myself?  Because I wanted to be rid of the Hexenbiest but then the more I got used to it, the more I didn't want to get rid of it.  I liked being a Hexenbiest but you and our friends were determined to undo what had happened and I got angry at everyone.”  
  
“And my mother?”  
  
Juliette winced at the question.  “I thought Kelly could handle herself.  She'd stayed alive for so long, and even with Diana I thought that she could take on Kenneth.  I thought that I would be able to help her but when the fighting started I just...I'm sorry, Nick, I'm so sorry.  I was so confused and so angry and I wasn't even sure who I was angry at anymore.”  
  
“You asked me to kill you.  When I had my hands around your neck, you begged me to kill you.”  
  
“It was the only way that to get rid of the Hexenbiest and end the killing.  When you let go, the Hexenbiest took over taunting you.  I knew she wanted to be free of me, but I didn't know she was going to heal me.  I thought I was finally going to die after Trubel shot me.”  
  
“I'm glad you're back.”  
  
“Are you?  Really?  Because I don't know how we come back from this.”  
  
“We'll find a way.  We'll work this out, I promise.”  
  
“Where are we anyway?  The doctor didn't tell me much, just that you and Trubel were brought here.”  
  
“I'm not sure where we are, but apparently Trubel and I are being recruited by a movement that opposes both the Royals and the Laufer.”  
  
“That doesn't sound good.”  
  
“We'll worry about them later.  You should rest.  I'll worry about getting us out of here.”  
  
“You should rest too.”  
  
“I will.”  Nick watched as Juliette closed her eyes and her breathing slowed.  Finally the hand that had been holding his relaxed and he was able to free himself and leave the bed in favor of the chair against the wall.    
  
_Don't trust her.  Don't believe her.  Do not trust her._  
  
_But I saw the Hexenbiest.  Trubel saw it too.  She's just Juliette now._  
  
_Henrietta said she was very powerful.  She made me point a gun at Monroe._  
  
_But she didn't make me shoot Monroe._  
  
_I love her._  
  
_I love her._

_She hasn't said that she loves me._


	5. Chapter 5

**“ _I used to dream that I would meet a Prince,  
But god almighty, have you seen what's happened since?”_**

* * *

 

“Anything look familiar?” Hank asked as he drove with the captain through an industrial part of the city.  
  
“From last night, no. We're not far from the container yard, though.”  
  
“We're still a few miles from the place, and you might not have taken this route to get there.”  
  
“I know. I just really hate having this blank space where my memories used to be.  I could have hurt or killed someone again last night.”  
  
“You can't think like that.”  
  
“I have absolutely no memory, Hank.  If I had gotten that drunk, I would still have some memories and I wouldn't have made it home without a scratch on me or my vehicle.”  
  
“So what do you think happened?”  
  
Sean stared straight ahead, remembering the last time he had driven down the particular street.  “Nothing good.”  
  
They rode in silence until Hank turned into the parking lot for Club XS.  “Still nothing?”  
  
“No.” Sean was getting frustrated that there wasn't anything at all familiar about the place.  He couldn't even see the neon sign that he'd remembered.  “What if I wasn't here?”  
  
“We won't know that until we go inside and talk to someone.”  
  
“The sooner the better.”  As soon as the car was stopped, Sean was opening the door.  “Thank you for bringing me here.  I'd probably still just be driving around in circles if I'd driven myself.”  
  
“I suppose next you're going to say that I should go home and you'll catch a cab when you're done.”  
  
“I am.”  
  
“No way. The last time you went in there, you forget everything that happened until you woke up the next morning. This isn't just your mess, either. It could effect all of us.  Besides, I don't want the hassle of training a new captain if someone decides to kill you, not to mention the paperwork.”  
  
“And here I thought you were genuinely concerned for my welfare,” Sean replied, unable to keep the hint of a smile from his face.  
  
“Don't go telling Nick or he'll be jealous.”  
  
Sean laughed, feeling some of the weight lift if only momentarily.  “Thank you.”  
  
“I just hope we don't both forget whatever we find out in there.”  
  
The inside of the club didn't look any more familiar than the outside.  “I don't understand,” Sean said when he and Hank reached the bar.  
  
“You two are early,” a young woman said, coming out through a door behind the bar.  “What can I do for you?”  
  
“Were you here last night?” Sean asked.  
  
“Here in the club?  No.  I was working a...private party.”  
  
“Is there anyone here who was in the club?  I seem to have lost something here last night.”  
  
“Hopefully not your virginity.  I'll be very sad if I missed that last night.”  She winked at Hank and then turned her attention back to Sean.  “Liv was here, I'll see if she's in her office.”  
  
“Vice was right about this place.  Seems pretty dull for a nightclub but there's something not right going on,” Hank said when they were alone again.  
  
“You don't have to stay, you know. I'd rather not drag you into this or have you get hurt be--”  
  
“Like hell I'm leaving.  I thought we were friends.”  
  
Sean smiled.  “I'd like to think that we are too.  That's why I want you to get the hell out of here.  I need you safe so that if something happens to me you can put together a rescue.”  
  
“Hello again, Sean,” Liv said, coming out of her office.  “I must say that I'm not sure if I should be pleased or upset that you found your way back here so soon.  This must be Detective Griffin.”  She offered her hand and he shook it.  “Can I call you Hank?  Formal titles seem so awkward in a place like this.”  
  
“I have been here before then.”

“You were just here last night. Please, have a drink.”

“I think we'll skip the drink considering I lost all my memories of having been here.”

“Do you really think I'm going to drug you?” She put three beer bottles on the counter along with a bottle opener. “Don't tell me you think Dos Equis is out to get you.”

“Screw it, I need a drink,” Hank said, reaching for the bottle opener. Sean conceded, opening the remaining two bottles and handing one to Liv.

“Now will you please tell me what is going on?” Sean asked.

“I am a djinn. Specifically, I am a Marid. You do know about djinn, right?”

“Just the stories I heard before my mother and I fled Europe, that the djinn once served the royal families but then they disappeared. Shortly after that the Grimms turned on the royal families.”

“There were once twenty-three royal families. Wars brought that number down to seven and the families blamed the djinn for their losses. One of your ancestors trapped my brother and I in order to keep the rest of the family from killing us. Unfortunately we were forgotten about until your father gave his bride a gold and silver puzzle box as a wedding present. I was in that puzzle box, and when the then-princess got angry she threw the box and it cracked open. I got out. I wasn't trapped anymore but I wasn't free. I had to serve whoever possessed the box.”

“You served the queen.”

“I did, until the day she died, and your father never knew. When she died, the box went to Eric and then to Viktor. Viktor brought the box here with him and left it behind when he was recalled to Vienna. That's how I ended up in Portland.”

“So you need to find that box.”

“It's just not the box now. Kenneth knew what it was, and he wasn't going to risk me getting free because he misplaced it.”

“What did he do?” Hank asked.

“He branded me with the family crest. I am so sorry for what I helped him do, but please understand that I had no choice. I had to obey him.”

“So how is Kenneth dead?”

“My mother was furious about what he did to me. When Nick came up with a plan to get Kenneth, she worked to help him. She is much stronger than I am so anything I did for Kenneth, she easily compensated for in helping Nick.”

“I'm guessing you didn't try all that hard.”

“I did as he wished, but nothing more. I wanted him dead from the moment he marked me, but I'm still not free. I won't be free until that box is found and destroyed. As long as it exists, I can't leave this dimension and go home.”

* * *

  
Nick had dozed off for a bit, waking up when the doctor came into the room to check on Juliette who was already awake.  
  
“That can't have been a comfortable place to sleep,” Juliette said.  
  
“I'm fine.”  
  
“How are you feeling?” Dr. Reed asked Juliette.  
  
“I feel great except for all these wires.”  
  
“I don't think the monitors are really needed any longer so we can get rid of all the wires.  You can shower and change into some real clothes if you feel up to it.”  
  
“That would be great.”  
  
“Chavez wants to talk to you, but I told her it would be at least two hours before that could happen.  You should eat something so once your showered and dressed, just use the call button and I'll have some food sent up.”  
  
“Thank you,” Juliette said as the doctor went about removing the sensors that were monitoring Juliette's vitals.  It only took a few minutes and then Juliette was heading for the bathroom.  
  
“How are you doing?” she asked Nick when the bathroom door clicked shut.  
  
“Fine.”  
  
“You're not fine.  Some proper sleep and a hot shower might do you wonders too.”  
  
“I'm not leaving.”  
  
“You won't be able to help Juliette if you don't take care of yourself.  Will you at least eat something?”  
  
He nodded.  “I'll eat with Juliette.  Scout's honor.”  
  
“Ok.”  
  
As the doctor was leaving, Nick stood up.  “What about Trubel?”  
  
“She's fine as far as I know.  Do you want to see her?”  
  
“Yes, I do.”  
  
“I'll talk to Agent Chavez, see what can be arranged.”

* * *

  
“They should have been back by now,” Adalind said.  Monroe and Rosalee had brought her home with them so Bud could get some sleep.  
  
“We have to have patience.  Sean can take care of himself,” Rosalee said, sitting on the sofa next to the pregnant Hexenbiest.  
  
“Not if he doesn't know what he's going up against.  I never should have tried to help Juliette, now I'm helpless and she's doing god knows what.  What if Nick is hurt or dying or--”  
  
“Enough of that,” Monroe interrupted, bringing a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses.  “No need to imagine everyone is dead and dying when for all we know they're fine.”  
  
“If Nick was fine we would have heard from him by now.”  
  
Rosalee knew that, like it or not, Adalind was right.  “Sean and Hank haven't been gone all that long and there's nothing that we can do to help any of them right now.  You need to stay calm for your baby's sake.”  
  
All the fight seemed to go out of Adalind with those words.  “You're right.  I'm sorry.”  
  
“No need to apologize.  I know that this is a very stressful time for you but Monroe and I are not going to let anything happen to you, and as soon as we know anything we will do whatever it takes to help Nick and Trubel if they need it.”  
  
“I'm never getting Diana back, am I?”  Adalind's eyes filled with tears and the hand that was reaching for a glass started to shake.  
  
“Don't say that,” Monroe said, filling a glass with lemonade and handing it to her.  “We're not giving up on anyone, and that includes your daughter.”  
  
“Why are you being so nice to me?  You should hate me.”  
  
“We've all made mistakes in our lives, and we've all lashed out and hurt people but we also all deserve forgiveness.  I know you didn't mean for all the things that happened to happen.  You've been trying to do the right thing and that counts for a lot.”  
  
“What if they decide they want this baby too?”  
  
“I doubt that they will.  This baby doesn't have royal blood.”  Rosalee hoped she sounded more reassuring than she felt, because she and Monroe had been talking about that very thing right after finding out about the baby.  A royal hybrid Hexenbiest was one thing, but a hybrid Grimm/Hexenbiest was far more dangerous, and the royal family would have competition if they wanted this baby.  _Too much competition_ , Rosalee though.  Even the Council would be willing to kill to get the child Adalind was carrying.

 


	6. Chapter 6

_**Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master.  
** _

* * *

 

“Are you going to keep us here forever?” Trubel asked when Chavez came into the room where she'd been left.  
  
“No.  If you decide that you don't want to join us, you'll be free to go.  We're not bad people.”  
  
“No, you just kidnap Grimms off the street.”  
  
“Nick was vulnerable.  Would you have preferred we left him there for the Varrat to find?”  
  
“Of course not.  Look, when are you going to let us go?”  
  
“When I'm convinced the Juliette isn't a threat, and when Nick decides he wants to leave.”  
  
“I have to wait here until Nick decides to leave?”  
  
“Nick is still vulnerable and believe it or not, I don't want to see him get hurt.  He needs at least one person around that he can trust, and that is you.”  
  
“I'm not so sure he trusts me anymore.”  
  
“He trusts you more than he trusts me.  Come on, I'll take you to get some food.”  
  
Trubel looked suspicious when Chavez opened the door and beckoned her out, but after a second's hesitation she left the room.  The hallway was free of guards which Trubel assumed had to be a good thing.  “So how is Juliette?”  
  
“Physically, she seems to be fine.  Her wounds are gone and she says the Hexenbiest is gone as well.”  
  
“You don't believe her.”  
  
“It's all too easy.  I want to believe her, and to just send her and Nick on their way but...”  
  
“Wouldn't Nick know if she's still a Hexenbiest?”  
  
“If he wants so badly to believe that she isn't, he might overlook the things that tell him that she is.”  
  
“I won't.”  
  
“Considering you're the one that killed her, I don't think you should be going anywhere near Juliette.”  
  
“Are you going to keep me locked up in that cell until you decide to release me?”  
  
“No, I've arranged for a nicer room for you to stay in.  You are free to roam the facilities, talk to everyone here, get a feel for what it is we hope to accomplish.”  
  
“Just stay away from Juliette.”  
  
“For now.  That doesn't mean you can't visit with Nick if he's willing to see you.”  
  
“I should have never come back to Portland.”  
  
“That's not the type of person you are, Theresa Rubel.  You are a good friend and you could never have just sat back and done nothing when you knew a friend needed help.”  
  
Chavez showed her into a large room filled with tables and a serving line.  “Reminds me of the high school cafeteria.”  
  
“Hopefully the food is better.  Get whatever you want.  You can hang out here for a while or you can visit your new living quarters.”  Chavez handed her a magnetic key card.  “I'd say I'll be back in a little while but I have a feeling you'd like to explore after you eat.”  
  
“You really mean that?”  
  
“I do.  I'll see you later.”

* * *

  
“Sean and Hank should have checked in by now,” Rosalee said.  It was early in the morning but she didn't think the captain would avoid calling her just so she could sleep in.  He had to know that they were all worried about him after he had another blackout.  
  
“Maybe they found out something about where Nick and Trubel are.”  
  
“One of them would have called.  Something's wrong.”  She dialed Sean's phone, then Hank's, but both went straight to voice mail like they had been doing all evening. "We need to go to Club XS.”  
  
“No, we need to stay right here.  In case you've forgotten, Adalind is in the guest room and I don't think it's a good idea to leave her here alone.”  
  
“All right, I'll go to--”  
  
“You are not going there alone.  Rosalee, you know what kind of place XS is.  You stay here, and I'll go.”  
  
“Monroe!”  
  
“What?”  
  
Rosalee sighed.  “That is the most sexist thing I have ever heard from you, and how do you even know where XS is?”  
  
“XS is the only place in Portland that imports Augustiner Bräu Lagerbier Hell.  Do you know how had it is to find a good German lager around here?”  
  
“What's going on?” Adalind asked, coming into the living room wrapped in a robe.  “Have you heard from anyone?  Where's Nick?”  
  
“We don't know, and we haven't heard from Sean or Hank,” Rosalee explained.  “I'm sorry if we woke you.  You should go back to bed.”  
  
“No, I don't want to go back to bed.  I want to help.  Sean was right, I did cause all of this although technically if he hadn't--”  
  
“Right now is not the time to start placing blame.  Right now we have to work together to figure out what is going on and where Nick is.”  
  
“Sorry Rosalee, you're right and I am grateful that you and Monroe were willing to let me come and stay here.  I just want to help."    
  
“Look, we're all tired and not really thinking straight,” Monroe said.  “Maybe we should consider that no news is good news.”  
  
“I don't like this,” Adalind said.  “Sean and Hank would have touched base with you by now if they were able to.”  
  
Looking between the two women, Monroe sighed.  “All right, we'll all head over to the captain's house to see if he's home, and then we'll go to XS.”

* * *

  
“What has the King done to you?”  
  
Viktor stirred in his dungeon cell at the sound of the cell door opening and the feel of someone gently raising his head to place a pillow beneath him.  
  
“Atarah?”  
  
“Yes, I'm here.”  She covered his shivering, naked body with the blanket she had brought with her.  “I wish I could help you but there is too much at stake.”  
  
“Livia?”  
  
“Kenneth is dead.”  
  
“Sean will claim her.”  
  
She caressed his face with her hand.  “You really do care about her, don't you?”  
  
“Sean would not hurt her.  She would be safe if--”  
  
“Your cousin has already been dealt with.”  The hand on his cheek glowed and Viktor's body relaxed.  “You should rest now.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“You were never cruel to Liv.  You could have been the victorious Crown Prince except that you were too smitten by her.  It's not your fault; it is her power and her curse.  If Kenneth was capable of feelings for anyone except himself, things might not have turned out the way they did.”  
  
“You're not going to help me, are you?”  
  
“Help you escape?  No.  I will come visit though.  I'll bring you food and water later.”  
  
“Don't leave me.”  
  
“I have to.  Sleep now.”  Atarah slipped out of the cell, locking the door behind her and hurrying away.  As old and powerful as she was, the iron had weakened her to the point that easing Viktor's pain had barely been possible.  She didn't intend to return any time soon.

* * *

  
“Damn it,” Sean said when he woke once again with no idea how he had ended up in bed.  His head hurt, his entire body ached, and he instinctively knew that the bed he was in was not his own.  Definitely not good.  
  
“Just lie still,” he heard Liv say, and then a cool cloth was being placed on his forehead.  “You're going to be all right.”    
  
“What happened?”    
  
“How much do you remember of last night?”  
  
“Going to the club with Hank.  Where is Hank?”  
  
“He's fine.  I sent him home.  Now how much do you remember from last night?”  
  
“You're a djinn.  You did something to me.”  
  
“I was only protecting myself.”  
  
“Because of Kenneth.  You told me what he did to you.”   The pain got worse and he tried to woge but ended up whimpering as spasms wracked his body.  
  
“No, don't do that.  Just lie still and it will pass.”  
  
The pain finally diminished enough that he could try and speak.  “What have you done to me?”  
  
“I needed information from you.  I didn't think that you being a hybrid would cause this kind of a reaction.”  
  
“Let me call my mother, she can help me.”  
  
“We both know that you haven't been able to reach your mother since she left after bringing you back from the dead.  Even if you could, your mother is busy at the moment and you are going to be fine.  I know it doesn't feel like it right now but this will pass.”  
  
“People will be looking for me.”  
  
“I know.  I should have taken you to your home, you'd feel safer there.”  
  
“What is it you want from me?”  
  
“The same thing everyone else seems to want from you.”

* * *

  
The next time Sean opened his eyes, he was in his own bed and it was daylight.  
  
“How are you feeling?” Rosalee asked as she pressed a hand to his forehead.  
  
“How did I get here?”  
  
“I don't know.  Monroe and I were worried about you so we came over with Adalind.  At first we thought the front door was locked but then it just opened so we assumed you had let us in.  Except that you were in here, dead to the world, with a note pinned to the sheet.  It says you were drugged with scopolamine.”  
  
“You need to check on Hank.”  
  
“Sergeant Wu went to Hank's house and brought him here.  He doesn't remember anything of last night.  Do you?”  
  
“No, just bits and pieces like some bad dream.  I do remember a woman saying that she'd miscalculated something to do with my being a hybrid, and not to try to woge for a while.”  
  
“If you and Hank were both drugged, it could explain why he's fine apart from the missing memories and you look like death warmed over.”  
  
“I need to call the precinct.”  He tried getting out of bed but the room swam before his eyes.  
  
“You need to stay still,” Rosalee said.  “The sergeant already called in that you and Hank are both out sick.”  
  
“You sound like her.”  
  
“Like who?”  
  
“I don't know.  I just remember her telling me to lie still and that I was going to be fine.”  
  
“If you remember that, then maybe more of your memories will start coming back.”  
  
“I hope so,” he said before closing his eyes again, deciding that sleep was the easiest course of action.  It let him avoid answering all the other questions that would no doubt follow.

* * *

  
“He didn't tell you anything about the location of the key?” Atarah asked her daughter.  “Did you even ask?”  
  
“He was too sick,” Liv said.  They were sitting in a back room of the club drinking coffee.    
  
“You should have just used your powers instead of relying on chemicals to do the work.”  
  
“You know the dangers of doing it twice in such a short time.  I had no way of knowing that he would have that sort of reaction.”  
  
“Recovering a key is more important than he is, Prince or not.  If we don't get at least one of the keys, all of this will have been for nothing.”  
  
“He might help us, you know.  I should just tell him the truth.”  
  
“If he knew the truth, he would tell his family and then what would we do?  The royal families already have four of the keys, and the Grimm has two keys.  That leaves just one key still unaccounted for and there would be no end to the bloodshed that would occur in the quest for that last key.”  
  
“Yes, Mother.”  
  
“Viktor still has feelings for you, and you need to do the same to Sean.  Sean could actually get a key, and all you would have to do is ask.  We both know what will happen if I task your brother with getting the information from Prince Sean.”  
  
“If you were to give Geir a prince to play with, you'd make him very happy.”  
  
“The Prince would not be, so get that key from him.”


	7. Chapter 7

_**Love me or hate me, both are in my favor.** _  
_**If you love me, I will be always in your heart.** _  
_**If you hate me, I will be always in your mind.** _

* * *

“You don't know what the King planned on doing with Diana?” Chavez asked.  She was sitting opposite Nick and Juliette, hoping that letting Nick join them would make the Grimm more inclined to consider her proposal that he join their organization.  
  
“No.  I just know that he wanted to get her back to Vienna as quickly as possible.”  
  
“And what did the King offer you?”  
  
“A new life in Vienna.  He said that his family had always appreciated the very things that made others want to kill Hexenbiests.  I think he just wanted to have sex with me.”  
  
“What?” Nick couldn't stop himself from reacting, hard as he was trying not to react to any of it.    
  
“He said he'd always had a soft spot for Hexenbiests.  He did have an affair with Sean's mother so I guess there are men that aren't repulsed by it.”  
  
Nick looked as though he'd been slapped in the face, but Chavez pretended she didn't notice.  “Why didn't you go with him to Vienna?”  
  
“I didn't want a new life in service to a royal family.  I would have been nothing but a pet.  With all the chaos at the house I was able to run off after getting Diana to the helicopter.  I knew that the King wouldn't waste time looking for me when he was afraid of capture.”  
  
“When can we go home?” Nick asked.  “Juliette can't tell you anything more than what she already has.  Kenneth used her just like he used everyone else.”  
  
“What do you suppose is going to happen if you go home with Juliette?  Do you think you're going to just pick up where you left off, pretend the whole Hexenbiest thing never happened?”  
  
“That's not your problem.”  
  
“It is, Nick, because like it or not you are a Grimm and if the families get their hands on you it will be disastrous for the rest of us.”  
  
“Besides, all of your friends hate me for what I did to them, and I don't blame them.  I've given it some thought, Nick, and my life here in Portland is over.  I want to go back to Spain, to where I lived with my grandmother, and just start over.”  
  
“After all this you want to just leave?  Juliette, please...”  
  
There were tears in his eyes when Juliette finally looked at him.  “I'm sorry Nick.  It's better for both of us this way.  Tell everyone that I'm dead if it helps, because as far as they are concerned, I am.”  
  
“What about Trubel?  She knows that you're not dead.”  
  
“Handle it however you think is best.  I'd like to return to my room now.”  
  
Agent Chavez stood up and said she would take Juliette back to her room, leaving Nick sitting there in silence.  He couldn't quite believe what had just happened, and that despite finding out that Juliette was alive and no longer a Hexenbiest, he was still losing her.    
  
When Trubel came into the room, she found Nick sitting in a corner, sobbing.  “Hey, you're not alone you know,” she said, afraid to touch him for fear of him lashing out.  Chavez had told her about Juliette's decision and while she was sorry for the pain both Nick and Juliette were going through, she understood and agreed with Juliette's decision.  “Nick?”  
  
“Go back to Josh,” he finally said, “and leave me alone.”  
  
“No.  You need a friend and as far as I can tell, I'm the only friend you have here.  I won't leave you alone.  In case you've forgotten, I was pretty difficult when you found me but you didn't give up.  I'm not giving up on you, Nick Burkhardt.  I'm staying right here with you whether you like it or not.”  
  
“Is that what Chavez told you to say?  Did she recruit you to her cause?”  
  
“This has nothing to do with Chavez.  You're my friend and I care about you.”  
  
“Leave.  Just leave.”  
  
“Fine, I'll go for now, but I'll be back.”  
  
“Whatever,” Nick said, never once looking at her.  
  
“You can't just leave him in there,” Trubel said when Chavez met her in the hallway.  “What are you going to do?”  
  
“Normally I would give him the choice to stay or go, but he's too dangerous to himself and everyone else right now.  I'll have him sedated and after he's gotten some sleep, I'll talk to him again.”  
  
“His friends will be worried about him.  Can I at least contact Monroe and Rosalee, let them know that Nick's ok?”  
  
“That might not be a bad idea.  Call and tell them that Nick is fine but that you and he had to get out of town for while.  If they want to talk to him, say that he's passed out from exhaustion.  That will be true soon enough.  Tomorrow hopefully he'll be in a better state of mind and we can let him go.”  
  
Her phone was in her new room when she returned so she immediately sat on the bed and called Monroe.  
  
“Trubel?” The Blutbad sounded surprised and relieved to be hearing from her.  “You have no idea how worried everyone has been about you.  How are you?  Where are you?  Please tell me that Nick is with you.”  
  
“I'm fine, Nick and I just...we left town for a while.”  
  
“What happened?”  
  
“I can't really talk about it on the phone.  The exhaustion finally caught up with Nick and he's out like a light.  How is everybody there?”  
  
“Yeah, we're fine.”  He saw no reason to worry the younger Grimm with what was going on with Hank and Sean.  “So when do you think you'll be coming back?”  
  
“Tomorrow maybe.  It just depends on how Nick's feeling.  I've got to go but I'll try to call again tomorrow if we aren't going to be returning.”  
  
“Ok.  Take care.”  
  
“You too.”  
  
The call ended and Monroe turned to Hank and Wu who had been standing close enough to hear.  “Something's not right.”  
  
“Did she say where they are?”  
  
“No, just that they left town.  I got the distinct impression that she was choosing her words very carefully.”  
  
“I can go to the station, have her cell phone traced to find the location she's calling from.”  Wu was heading out the door within seconds.  
  
“You really don't remember anything from last night?” Monroe asked Hank.  
  
“Nothing after pulling into the parking lot.”  
  
“So you did make it to XS?”  
  
“Yeah, but I don't know if we ever made it inside.”  
  
“Shouldn't you report this in some official capacity?”  
  
“To who?  The captain is lying in bed sick, and with no memory of what happened there's not really anything to report.”  
  
“Why would someone leave a note saying what he was drugged with?”  
  
“Guilty conscience maybe?”  
  
Rosalee came down the stairs at that moment.  “Did I hear you talking on the phone?”  
  
“Yeah, Trubel called.  She and Nick left town for a while but they're ok and they might be back tomorrow.  How's the captain?” Monroe asked.  
  
“He's just feeling out of sorts and achy all over.  Like the flu with amnesia.  Hank, how you are feeling?   Still no side effects other than your memory?”  
  
“No, I feel great.  I just wish I could remember something.”  
  
“That makes two of us,” Sean said, slowly coming down the stairs in jeans and a blue linen shirt that had only half of the buttons done.  
  
“You should be in bed,” Rosalee told him.  
  
“Lying in my pajamas isn't going to resolve anything.  What did you hear about Nick?”  
  
“Trubel called and said that she and Nick left town but they may be back tomorrow,” Monroe explained.  
  
“Did she say where they are?”  
  
“No, but Wu is tracking her cell phone,” Hank said.  “Captain, you really should be in bed.”  
  
“I need to go back to that club.  The answer to what is happening to me is there.”  
  
“You can't really think that the third time is going to be a charm,” Monroe said.  
  
“I can't go on like this, wondering when I'm going to wake up again with no memory of what happened.  
  
His right hand curled into a fist and for a moment Rosalee thought he might punch his wall.  “This isn't the same as what happened with Jack.”  
  
“It is exactly like that!  Don't you see, I have no idea what I did or didn't do during the period of time that is missing from my memory.  How do I explain to my mother that I killed one of her closest friends and I don't even remember doing it?”  
  
“That wasn't you,” Hank said.  “This sucks, I agree, but you had no control over what Jack did.”  
  
“My hands killed those women.  It was my face that they saw before they died.”  Sean seemed to run out of anger and slumped down onto the sofa.  “They were the price for bringing me back.”  
  
“This was not your fault,” Rosalee said as she quickly sat beside the captain and cautiously put a hand on his shoulder.  “Jack used you, and he's gone.  Whoever is doing this to you now is going to pay for it, I can promise you, but you need rest.  Getting yourself worked up over it when your body is still recovering isn't good for you.”  
  
“My mother should nev--” he started to say, but then stopped.  “I wanted my mother.  I asked someone to call my mother to help me.”  
  
“You're remembering more from last night?  Ok, this is good,” Monroe said.  
  
“It was definitely a woman, I can remember her voice.”  
  
“When you were in bed, you told me that you remembered a woman telling you to lie still and that you'd be all right.  Was it the same women?”  
  
“Yes.  I only remember one voice.  We have to go back to that club.  If there's even a chance of remembering--”  
  
“I agree, now that you're remembering you should continue, but will there even be anyone at the club?” Rosalee asked.  
  
“There's someone there,” Adalind said from where she had been standing by the kitchen counter, ignored.  “Members of the private club have 24 hour access so someone on the staff is always around.”  
  
“How do you know that?” Monroe asked her.  
  
“It came up during a case I handled back when I was working as a lawyer.”  
  
“We should all go.”  
  
“Adalind stays here.”  
  
“Sean, I--”  
  
“Your unborn child should not be in harm's way.  Besides, someone needs to stay here and know where we went.  Going with Hank resulted in two of us losing our memories, so there may be no strength in numbers.  If you don't hear from us in a few hours, call Sgt. Wu and tell him where we went.”  
  
“You're sure I'll be safe here?”  
  
“Completely.  Just don't let anyone in.”  
  
“Like Juliette is going to ring the doorbell.”  
  
“This is the safest place for you to be.  Just stay inside.  No one has any cause to come looking for you here.”  
  
“Yeah, just...be careful.  All of you,” Adalind said as the rest of the group headed out the door.

* * *

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Chavez asked as she let Juliette into a room that was not in the medical center.  
  
“Absolutely.  Nick needs to move on, and he can't do that while I'm around.  I meant what I said about our friends hating me.  It's too painful for me to stay here.”  
  
“We'll set you up with a new identity and a place to live in another state.  I appreciate you joining our cause, Juliette.”  
  
“I don't know how much help I can give you, but anyone who wants to take out the royals has my support.”

* * *

Outside of Elizabeth's cabin hideaway, a gray owl sat high in one of the trees and stared at a window.  A little blond girl with violet eyes was staring back until her grandmother came over and closed the drapes.  Once the drapes were closed the owl flew off.  
  
“What were you looking at?” Elizabeth asked as Diana sat on the floor and began to draw on a sheet of paper.  
  
“The owl.  I want to fly away with him.”  
  
“And leave me?”  
  
Diana looked up and gave her grandmother a smile.  “I would come back for you.”  
  
“Would you now?  Why not just stay with me?”  
  
“There are things I have to do.”  
  
Meisner had been sitting on the sofa flipping through a book but his eyes met Elizabeth's over the pages.  Diana's words had unsettled them both.  


	8. Chapter 8

_**“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”  
** _

* * *

 

The door to the club was unlocked so Sean went inside, followed closely by the others.  Despite the dim lighting he could make out Liv behind the bar, wiping glasses.  
  
“Brought the cavalry this time,” she said, looking up when he reached the counter.  “Well, not quite the cavalry.  Haven't found the Grimm yet, I see.”  
  
“You know where Nick is?” Hank asked, moving closer.  
  
“You need to tell us,” Rosalee said.  
  
“Is that really why you all came here?  To get me to tell you where Nick is?”  
  
“No,” Sean finally said, “though if you know where he is--”  
  
“Think carefully about what you want to ask, Captain Renard.  You only get one question.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Monroe!  So good to see you again.  I thought perhaps you had lost your taste for fine lager.”  
  
“You actually know her?” Rosalee asked, sounding quite surprised.  
  
“Well yeah, I told you I come here...came here.  I haven't been here in a long time.”  
  
“He speaks the truth, Rosalee.  Monroe has not been to visit us since you and he hooked up.  Now, Captain Renard, chose your question.”  
  
“I only get one?”  
  
“You only get one free.  After that, there is a price to be paid.  Information is valuable, after all.”  
  
“From what I remembered I thought perhaps you were a friend.”  
  
She laughed a bit at that.  “Oh believe me, Captain, compared to the others, I am your friend.”  
  
“All right, tell me who you are.”  
  
“I am Livia Basara, owner of this fine establishment.  Really, Captain, you could have learned that from the public records.”  
  
“That's not what I meant.”  
  
“But it is what you asked, and I have given you an answer.”  
  
He came closer to the bar, setting his hands on the surface.  “So now what?”  
  
“I'd offer drinks but I'm sure you've cautioned your friends about that.”  
  
“Who are the others you mentioned?  Do they have Nick?”  
  
“That is two questions, and we haven't discussed the price, Captain.”  
  
“I've had enough of this.  I will find out who and what you are, and I will put an end to whatever it is you're trying to do,” Sean said, turning and storming to the door to leave.  
  
“Are you sure you want to do that?” she called just as he reached for the door handle.  “This is a one time offer where I'm willing to barter.  Once you go out that door, that's it.  There will be no second chances.”  
  
His hand paused in the air for a second before returning to his side.  “Can we leave at any time?”  
  
“Yes, unless you agree to stay in exchange for a piece of information.  I'm not holding any of you hostage.  The door is right there, you can go out it whenever you like.”  
  
“With or without our memories of what happens here?”  
  
“Whatever you learn here, you'll remember when you leave.”  
  
Sean turned to face his friends.  “You should all go.”  
  
“No way,” Hank said, and Monroe and Rosalee shook their heads.  
  
“We're staying right here,” Monroe said.  
  
“Excellent.  Let's go somewhere private to talk.”  While Liv was speaking, the scenery around them blurred for a fraction of a second and then they were surrounded by stone walls.  There were no doors and no windows, save for tiny openings just a few inches across near the tops of the walls.  
  
“I thought you said we could leave at any time.”  
  
“You can, Sean.  All you have to do is ask to leave.”  Liv sat in one of the chairs that framed a round table in the middle of the room.    
  
“Where are we?” Monroe asked as they all looked around in a combination of astonishment and fear.  
  
“Safe.  I promise you.  I just had to get you to somewhere that no one could eavesdrop.  I am not your enemy.”  
  
“I thought you were putting on a show before,” Sean said, relaxing as he sat down across from Liv.  “Now will you tell me who you are?”  
  
“You already know my name.  I am a Djinn of the Marid tribe and I just want to go home.”  
  
“Kenneth did something to you.  I wish my memories were more clear.”  
  
“Yeah, well I did give you a rather nasty drug that was designed to mess up your memories.  Sorry about that, by the way.  I had no idea that you would have that kind of a reaction to it.”  
  
“Perhaps you shouldn't be using those kinds of drugs on people,” Rosalee said.  
  
“The alternative was killing him.  Perhaps you should reserve your condemnation for those matters which you actually understand.”  
  
“Let's just get to why we're here.  What is it that you want from me?”  
  
“Your help.  This began long before Kenneth.  I was trapped centuries ago, and I remain bound to a puzzle box which I assume Kenneth sent back to Vienna.  I honestly have no idea where it is, but until it is destroyed--”  
  
“You're stuck here,” Rosalee finished.    
  
“”Yes, that is the concise version.  My mother is serving your father, the King, in order to get the puzzle boxes that my brother and I were bound to.  Whatever the King wants her to do, it can't be good for the rest of the world.”  
  
“Where is your home?” Hank asked.  
  
“Djinn are capable of crossing dimensions.  My home is in another dimension.”  
  
“So why the concern about what happens in this one?  You're just going to leave when you get what you want.”  
  
“This isn't just about the puzzle box.  I need one of the keys.”  
  
“God, is that all anyone thinks about?” Sean said, angrily.  
  
“It isn't what you think.  I want to destroy it.”  
  
“You want to destroy one of the keys,” Rosalee said.  “Why would you want to destroy it?”  
  
“Because what the Grimms found during the 4th Crusade must never, ever fall into the hands of the Royals...or anyone else.”  
  
“So what is it that you're so afraid of anyone finding?” Sean asked.  
  
“The Ring of Aandaleeb, better known as the Ring of King Solomon.”

* * *

“I want to go home,” Nick said when Chavez came back into the room.    
  
“You won't at least consider joining us and--”  
  
“I need some time.  A lot has happened and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all.  I want to see my friends.”  
  
“I can't imagine what you are feeling, but I would like you to stay here a little longer.  You should get some sleep before you head out to slay your dragons.”  
  
“Where is Trubel?”  
  
“Do you want to talk to her?”  
  
“No.  I just want to leave.”  
  
“Where will you go?”  
  
“Home.”  
  
“Do you really think that's wise?”  
  
“What do you care?” he finally snapped.  
  
“The world needs a Grimm like you.  Even if you don't join us, it is in our interests to help keep you safe.”  
  
“So will you take me home or not?”  
  
Chavez took a deep breath.  “I will, if you will allow me to first send some of my people to your house to secure the premises.  I won't deliver you to the enemy that easily.”  
  
What she said made sense and with that realization, some of the anger dissipated.  “How long will that take?”  
  
“An hour, give or take.  Are you sure you want to go back there?  I could put you up in a hotel.”  
  
“I need to go home.  There are things I have to take care of.”  
  
“You should know that when we brought you and Theresa here, we brought your mothers remains as well.  I didn't think you would want them left there.”  
  
“My mother is here?”  
  
“Legally she's been dead for a while and I didn't think you wanted to deal with the obvious issues of her being found murdered in your house.  It's not a problem for us to keep her here until you make other arrangements.”  
  
The insanity of the situation made Nick start to laugh but within seconds he was sitting in a chair, sobbing with his face in his hands.  The life he had built, the life he loved, was gone.  His mother was gone, Juliette was gone, and in their place was the woman who in the end was to blame for it.  
  
And the child.  Mustn't forget the child.  The child that would be a constant reminder of Juliette because he had been conceived while Adalind was playing at being Juliette and he had been too...well, male to stop and think about the way she was acting that afternoon.  The child was innocent, he truly believed that, but he hated that unborn baby.  Love him and hated him and had to keep him safe because above all else, he was Nick's son and the only family that Nick had left.


	9. Chapter 9

_**To do no evil is good, to intend none better.** _

* * *

“So you want a Key, but what you are offering in exchange?”  
  
“I know where your daughter is.”  
  
“So do I.  My father has her,” Sean said, a sudden sadness coming over him.  
  
Liv reached across the table and put her hand over his.  “Your father does not have her.  Diana is safe, with people who will not harm her.”  
  
“She isn't with the royal family?” Rosalee was stunned.  “How?  Nick saw Sean's father get in the helicopter and leave with her.”  
  
“It's a long way from Portland to Vienna.  Things happen.  You get me one of the Keys and I'll tell you where Diana is.”  
  
“How do we know you aren't lying?”  
  
“That's the chance you take when you deal with Djinn.  I suppose you just have to ask yourself which is in the best interest of everyone – destroying one of the Keys, or hoping that the royal families never find them?”  
  
“How do we know that you'll destroy it?  You could just take it and give it your mother to give to the King,” Monroe said.    
  
“Look, you can destroy it yourselves if you want.”  
  
“You're serious about just wanting to destroy a Key?”  
  
“Yes, Sean, I am.  With just one Key destroyed, the Ring of King Solomon will remain locked away from the world and everyone will be safer.”  
  
“I'm inclined to agree with you on that.  I think we have a deal.  There is still the matter of getting one of the Keys.  I don't know where they are.”  
  
“The Grimm does.”  
  
“But we don't know where Nick is,” Rosalee pointed out.  “Do you?”  
  
“No, and I am sorry about that.  Not because of the Key, but because I know you're worried about your friend.  I wish I could help.”  
  
“What if I wished for it?”  Sean asked.  “You are still bound to my family so if I wished for something--”  
  
“You'd be playing a very dangerous game that you don't understand.  Kenneth understood and he still died.  You have to be very specific and very, very careful about what you wish.”   
  
“Fine, tell me how to do it.  Then I can get my daughter back safely and--”  
  
“I will not be bound to you.  I'm not going through that again.”  
  
The look in her eyes made Sean feel guilty once again for his family's actions.  Kenneth was cruel and he didn't want to think about what he might have made Livia do but if binding her got him Nick and Diana back to him then...  “Do you really have a choice in the matter?  If you did, you wouldn't have been bound to Kenneth in the first place.”  
  
“I was bound to Kenneth because the King commanded me.  You are not the King,” she replied, defiant.    
  
“No, I'm not.  So my father really did sanction what Kenneth did.”  
  
“Your father was responsible for a good many deeds that were blamed on the Queen.”  
  
“How do we get Nick back?” Monroe asked, not really caring about Sean's family politics at the moment.  
  
“I don't know.  I honestly do not know where he is or who he might be with.”  
  
“We need to find him then.  Take us back so we can go home and come up with a plan.  Sean,” Rosalee added, “if you want to stay and talk with her some more, that's your choice but we have got to find Nick.”  
  
“No, staying won't accomplish anything.  You're right, we need to find Nick.”  
  
Liv nodded her understanding, and when things unblurred this time the four of them were in Sean's living room.    
  
“We should go to the spice shop and look through the books,” Monroe suggested.  “Maybe something survived about the Djinn.”  
  
“Did you learn anything?” Adalind asked, coming down the stairs.  “Sorry, I just went to lie down for a bit so I didn't hear you return.”  
  
“Have you ever heard of the Djinn?” Rosalee asked.    
  
“You're dealing with a Djinn now?  What kind?”  
  
“She said she was from the Marid tribe,” Sean offered.    
  
“Marid's are very rare.  It's better than dealing with an Ifrit but all Djinn are dangerous.  Did she offer to grant you a wish in exchange for something?”  
  
“No.  She offered to tell me where Diana is if I give her one of the Keys.”  
  
“She knows where my child is?”  Adalind came down the rest of the stairs quickly.  “What did you tell her?”  
  
“The truth, that I don't know where any Key is.  Only Nick does.  Do you know how I can bind her to me so she has to do what I want?”  
  
“You don't want to do that.  It will be disastrous.  If you force her to do your bidding, you will never stop regretting it.”  
  
“I may not have a choice if you want Diana back.”  
  
“I'm coming with you to the shop.  If you still have my mother's book there should be something in there about protection against Djinn.”  
  


* * *

  
Agent Chavez insisted on accompanying Nick into the house, something he would never admit he was grateful for.  “It's been cleaned up,” he said when he looked around in surprise.  
  
“I figured the least I could do was take care of that so you weren't faced with it.”  
  
A piece of plywood covered the broken window, and all of the glass and blood had been cleaned from the floor.  Now it only looked like there had been a small skirmish rather than a full war.  “Thank you.”  
  
“Your phone is by the desk.  Are you sure you'll be all right alone here?”  
  
“Yes.  Thanks again for what you've done.”  
  
“Call me if you decide to join us.  And even if you don't, call me if there's anything I can do.  I meant it when I said that we need a Grimm like you around, whether you're on our team or not.”  
  
“Yeah, I will.”  
  
Once he was alone, he stared at where the box with his mother's head had been left for him.  For a second time he found himself sitting on the floor, sobbing.  There was no prince to kill, no child to try and protect, no Juliette to find and stop.  With nothing to distract him from his pain he was too overwhelmed to notice the front door opening and closing or the footsteps approaching him.  
  
“You're not alone Nick,” Trubel said, kneeling next to him.  When Chavez had told her about Nick going home, she'd been unsure about the agent's suggestion that go with the agents who were going to be watching Nick's house for a while in case the royals tried to get revenge.  It had taken her a while to work up the courage to go inside the house, though.  She was still afraid of the anger and the blame that was sure to be in Nick's eyes, and the rejection that she didn't think she could handle.  
  
Instead his arms went around her neck and he sobbed against her shoulder, holding onto her as though he might drown in his own tears should he let go.  She held him tight, rubbing his back and whispering words of comfort until the sobbing stopped and his body relaxed slightly.  
  
“Trubel.”   
  
“Yeah, it's me.”  
  
“Thank you for staying.”  
  
“You're the only family I've got.  Where else would I be, huh?”    
  



End file.
